Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoDuring Kansas University’s intrasquad scrimmage on Wednesday, quarterback Jason Swanson dropped back in the pocket and fired a perfect strike to Marcus Herford, who juked and streaked his way just short of the end zone against KU’s vaunted defense for a nice chunk of yards after the catch.
Was it a sign of things to come? Maybe so.
Herford — who began the spring trying out for the starting-quarterback job — worked out with the wide receivers for the entire practice Wednesday, fitting right in with the likes of first-teamers Mark Simmons and Brian Murph.
KU coach Mark Mangino said he hadn’t “divorced” Herford from the quarterback position, but admitted that the red-shirt freshman had been much more comfortable lined up out wide.
“We had to look at, ‘Where does he best help our team for this season?'” Mangino said. “He’s not quite ready yet to be the quarterback for us, but we don’t know what the future holds. We know this: He’s an awfully talented athlete and receiver.”
At 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, Herford provides a big target for the remaining full-time quarterbacks — Swanson, Adam Barmann and Brian Luke.
Swanson and Barmann shared a majority of the first-team snaps Wednesday, with Mangino saying afterward that neither was the front-runner at this point. In many three-receiver sets, Herford and Murph were out wide, with Simmons in the slot. Jonathan Lamb also played at receiver, as did Marcus Henry and Dexton Fields.
All eyes, though, were on Herford, the new kid on the wide-receiver block.
“Marcus is a beautiful target,” Swanson said with a grin. “He’s a big, strong, 6-3 guy. He’s fast. When he catches the ball, he makes plays. It’s a help at wide receiver for us.”
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More position changes: In addition to Marcus Herford’s move from quarterback to wide receiver on Kansas University’s football team, the other big position change was on the line, where Todd Haselhorst has moved from defensive tackle to center.
KU briefly experimented with Matt Thompson at center, but he was moved back to right tackle, and Haselhorst was moved from defense to offense at the end of last week. Wednesday, the first-team offensive line, from left to right, was Cesar Rodriguez, Bob Whitaker, Haselhorst, David Ochoa and Thompson.
James McClinton and Tim Allen were first-team at defensive tackle.
Also seen at a different position was red-shirt freshman Aqib Talib, who moved from cornerback to safety and worked alongside Rodney Fowler on the first team.
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Heaggans update: KU kick-return specialist Greg Heaggans has not been practicing with the team this spring.
“I’m holding him right now,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “He has some issues to deal with, and I’m holding him out of practices.”
Mangino wouldn’t go into further detail, but he did say that Heaggans still was a member of the team.
Heaggans’ career at KU has been plagued with off-field troubles, including more than one run-in with the law.
6Sports video: Herford to make home as wide receiver